Dzhankoy (Crimea), 1-2 July: About 20 web administrators working on official web sites in UNDP partner city councils have shared their experience, the problems they encounter in solving them and learned how to apply modern interactive tools to improve communication between the municipalities and local communities. The workshop was organised by a UNDP-led Project "Municipal Governance and Sustainable Development Programme" with financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency.

The UNDP-led Project "Municipal Governance and Sustainable Development Programme" (MGSDP) facilitates provision of transparent and reliable information to the citizens through creating and modernising of the official web sites of the city councils.
 

Currently, 14 web-pages of the city council were created and modernised for UNDP/MGSDP partner city councils, including: Zhytomyr, Novograd-Volynskiy (Zhytomyr Region), Mogyliv-Podilskiy, Kalynivka (Vinnytsa Region), Kagarlyk, Ukrayinka (Kyiv Region), Saky, Dzhankoy, Shcholkine, Bakhchysaray, Nyzhnogirskiy, Krasnogvardiyske, Zuya, Pervomayske (AR Crimea). By the end of 2010 official web sites will be created for municipalities of Tulchyn (Vinnytsia Region), Rubizhne (Lugansk Region) and Kirovske (Donetsk region).
 

The participants could assess their web-sites considering the model of four stages of the official websites development known in the world. In the first stage (stage of unilateral placement of information) the web pages provide basic information on local self-government body.

The second stage (stage of reverse connection), the sites provide an opportunity for interactive communication with citizens through electronic mail, forums, electronic reception, active web-page update. Unfortunately, interactive tools are not used to the full extent and the training was aimed at expanding the use of interactive tools.
 

The third stage is the stage of the transactions, which envisages interaction with representatives of local self-governance bodies and citizens in real time, which includes service provision, issuing a document, registering an enterprise. The fourth stage is the implementation of any payments through web-portals of the central and regional authorities, operation of regional portals that combine administrative and private sector services.

The trainers were Anatoliy Kovtonyuk, trainer-expert of INTEL educational programs “Education for the Future” and Andriy Morozov, lecturer of computer information technologies at Zhytomyr Institute of Technology.
 

Dzhankoy City Council presented its city web site and some of the secrets of collecting information for the official website.

"Modernising official web site of Dzhankoy City Council assured openness and transparency of the local authorities and opened access to comprehensive information for city residents. Timely and accurate informing of the public on socially important questions provides local communities with real opportunity to influence the decision-making process”, said Ruslan Golovko, Chief of Administrative Services of Executive Committee of Dzhankoy City Council.
 

Discussing current difficulties, web pages administrators  mentioned reluctance of local officials to provide regularly information for placement on official sites, misunderstanding by departments of executive committees that maintaining web-site is common responsibility, lack of legislation regulating content of official web sites.
 

To solve these problems, the participants suggested to develop internal decrees which regulate departments` responsibilities in information provision, procedures of approval and deadlines.
 

In addition, it is necessary to inform local officials on national legislation, which obliges officials of local governments cover certain information. In particular it includes  the Law of Ukraine “On information”, the Law of Ukraine “On citizens` address”, the Law "On the coverage of activities of state and local self-government bodies in Mass Media”.
 

International treaty, adopted by Ukraine with international organisation Article 19, defines information which should be made public by public authorities. According to the treaty, the public authorities should inform the "content of any administrative or political decisions that effect society, together with reasons for such decisions and materials to justify their necessity”.
 

UNDP/MGSDP was initiated in 2004 for promoting democratic governance aimed at improving the livelihoods of people in urban areas across Ukraine under the framework of public-private partnership.
 

The Project cooperates with community-based organisations, academia and civil society organisations in 24 municipalities and 5 settlements of municipal type across Ukraine and other partners in private and public sectors. Together they apply various sustainable development mechanisms. Since 2004, UNDP/MGSDP supported 232 local community projects with a total cost of UAH 26.3 mln. For more information on the Project's activities, please visit: http://msdp.undp.org.ua